dystopia
by cedricsowner
Summary: Written for the future fic challenge at CCOAC. JJ and Rossi in a difficult situation in the year 2022. It does meet all the requirements... One-shot.


**Disclaimer: I don't own Criminal Minds and intend no copyright infringement.**

In 2022, the world was still standing.

Barely.

After the Third World War of 2019 had annihilated about three quarters of the world's population, the remaining last quarter didn't mind too much (and wouldn't have been able to do anything anyway) when the new government introduced a rather ... creative way of preventing further conflicts.

Not money is the root of all evil - according to the so called _Whitecoat Doctrine_, language was.

And thus all remaining people of the world had to accept the implantation of a computer chip in their brain that prevented them from making use of that highly dangerous instrument.

It worked. From 2019 to 2022, earth experienced a completely peaceful period.

As with all things programmed however, after a while an upgrade became available. An upgrade that would not only prevent people from _speaking_ in actual words, it would also prevent them from _thinking _in words.

It was ex-FBI agent Jennifer Jareau's job to protect that upgrade and the main processor till it could be implemented. Another ex-FBI agent, though, had other ideas.

"u = a + b+ c + d", she told the man she was still, despite their political differences, considering a friend. Pointing a gun at him was hard. The weapon slightly shook in her hand.

"α + β + γ = 180°", Rossi replied. This wasn't easy for him either.

"u = 2rπ A = r²π u = 2r + b O = 2(ab + ac + bc) V = G×h O = 2r²π + 2rπh SA : SA' = SB : SB' = AB : A'B' a² + b² = c² φ = 2α." She didn't want to shoot him. No, she didn't. Losing the others, one by one, had been hard enough.

Hotch in Paris.

Prentiss in Moscow.

Reid in Collingwood.

Morgan in Mogadishu.

Garcia in Delhi.

Will in Beijing.

Not him, too. "a + b = b + a (a + b) + c = a + (b + c) a·b = b·a (a·b)·c = a·(b·c) a·(b + c) = a·b + a·c (+a)·(+b) = +ab (+a)·(-b) = -ab (-a)·(-b) = +ab", she pleaded with him.

Rossi rested his eyes on her for a long moment. She had grown thin, and the long scar on her face was a constant reminder of what they had been through.

Both.

_Erin._

_In São Paulo._

But nevertheless - her eyes... This was still JJ. His co-worker... friend... for years. She had brought light, at least a little, into the darkest of moments. He hated that he needed to do this.

"(a + b)³ = a³ + 3a²b + 3ab² + b³ (a - b)³ = a³ - 3a²b + 3ab² - b³", he tried to explain.

It wasn't working.

"a³ - b³ = (a - b)(a² + ab + b²) a³ + b³ = (a + b)(a² - ab + b²)", she said.

Yes, she was right, if he detonated this bomb the effects of the chip, not only the upgrade, but the complete chip, would vanish. And since this was the command center, it would take the government a while to create a new one. Time the resistance groups desperately needed to set their plan in motion. Would it work? Not Rossi's business. His part in this was to eliminate the chip. The rest he had decided to leave to younger people.

Reid would have been such an asset to the groups. He probably would have come up with a better plan than they had now. Alas, Reid was no more. Rossi took a deep breath, swallowed dryly. They had to work with what they had.

"D = b² - 4ac ax² + bx + c = 0 x² + px + q = 0 D = (p/2)² - q ax³ + bx² + cx + d = 0 y³ + py + q = 0 a m · a n = a m+n sin² a + cos² a = 1 ax + by = c y = kx + d y - y 1 = k·(x - x 1) k = tan a M AB = ½(A + B) S = ⅓(A + B + C) (x T - x M )(x - x M ) + (y T - y M )(y - y M ) = r² e² = a² + b²", he tried to convince her one more time.

Unfortunately JJ had lost practically everything that had once mattered to her, but not her stubbornness.

"ax + by + cz = d (x - x M )² + (y - y M )² + (z - z M )² = r² y' = f'(x)·g(x) + f(x)·g'(x) y' = f'(g(x))·g'(x)", she insisted. "F(x) = kx + C F(x) = ln |x| + C F(x) = -cos x + C ò(f(x) ± g(x))dx = òf(x)dx ± òg(x)dx òf'(x)·g(x)dx = f(x)·g(x) - òf(x)·g'(x) dx R = x max - x min P(Z £ z) = Φ(z)."

Yes, of course, she had her reasons. But they were the wrong reasons. World peace was a fine thing, he couldn't agree more with her. But the price... There had to be another way. There just _had_ to be.

He got the detonator ready.

She aimed the gun straighter.

"P(-z £ Z £ z) = Φ(z) - Φ(-z) = 2Φ(z) - 1." Trust her to bring up that old story. Nice try, JJ. But it belonged to another time, another world...

"K 0 = K n ·(1 - n·d) E(x) = p·x bzw. p(x)·x G(x) = E(x) - K(x) C( x c / p(x c ) )." Oh, he could bring up old stories, too. But of course she was still relentless.

This was going nowhere. Time was running out. He needed to act, now or never.

Rossi activated the detonator. JJ pulled the trigger.

As the main processor blew into pieces in a long chain reaction, he sank to the ground with a chest wound.

JJ rushed to his side, pulled him into an embrace. "K''(x) 0? K''(x) 0?"

"Because I want you to be able to tell Henry that you love him", he answered, coughing.

_Because I want you to be able to tell..? Had he actually managed to say...? Out loud?_

Oh good lord.

It was working.


End file.
